Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

3 days ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

3 days ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

4 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

4 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

4 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

4 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

4 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

4 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

4 days ago
Michael Cohen Says He Stole from Trump's Company as Defense Presses Key Hush Money Trial Witness
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 1 year ago on
May 20, 2024

Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen admits to stealing from Trump's company during the hush money trial, raising questions about his credibility as a witness. (AP/Seth Wenig)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NEW YORK — Former Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen admitted Monday to jurors in the Republican’s hush money trial that he stole tens of thousands of dollars from Trump’s company as defense lawyers seized on the star witness’ misdeeds to attack his credibility.

The landmark trial kicked back off with defense cross-examination of Cohen, whose pivotal testimony last week directly tied Trump to the alleged hush money scheme. Defense lawyers already have questioned Cohen for hours about his criminal history and past lies to paint him as a serial fabulist who is on a revenge campaign aimed at taking down Trump.

While being pressed by defense attorney Todd Blanche, Cohen admitted that he pocketed cash that was supposed to be reimbursement for a $50,000 payment Cohen claimed he had shelled out to a technology firm. But Cohen actually gave the technology firm just $20,000, he said.

“So you stole from the Trump Organization,” Blanche asked.

“Yes, sir,” Cohen replied. Cohen said he never paid the Trump Organization back. Cohen has never been charged with stealing from Trump’s company.

Trump’s Defense Strategy

He’s the last prosecution witness, and it’s not yet clear whether Trump’s attorneys will call any witnesses, let alone the presumptive Republican presidential nominee himself.

After more than four weeks of testimony about sex, money, tabloid machinations and the details of Trump’s company recordkeeping, jurors could begin deliberating as soon as next week to decide whether Trump is guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president.

The charges stem from internal Trump Organization records where payments to Cohen were marked as legal expenses, when prosecutors say they were really reimbursements for Daniels’ hush money payment.

Trump has pleaded not guilty. His lawyers say there was nothing criminal about the Daniels deal or the way Cohen was paid.

“There’s no crime,” Trump told reporters after arriving at the courthouse Monday. “We paid a legal expense. You know what it’s marked down as? A legal expense.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office is expected to rest its case once Cohen is off the stand, but prosecutors would have have an opportunity to call rebuttal witnesses if Trump’s lawyers put on witnesses of their own. Judge Juan M. Merchan, citing scheduling issues, says he expects closing arguments to happen May 28, the Tuesday after Memorial Day.

Will Trump Testify?

Defense lawyers said they have not decided whether Trump will testify. And Trump did not respond to shouted questions from reporters about whether his lawyers have advised him not to take the stand.

Defense attorneys generally are reluctant to put their clients on the witness stand and open them up to intense questioning by prosecutors, as it often does more harm than good.

Cohen is prosecutors’ most important witness, but he is also vulnerable to attack.

The now-disbarred attorney has admitted on the witness stand to previously lying under oath and other falsehoods, many of which he claims were meant to protect Trump. Cohen served prison time after pleading guilty to various federal charges, including lying to Congress and a bank and engaging in campaign finance violations related to the hush money scheme.

And he has made millions of dollars off critical books about the former president, whom he regularly slams on social media in often profane terms.

Cohen told jurors that Trump was intimately involved in the scheme to pay off Daniels to prevent her from going public late in his 2016 presidential campaign with claims of a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump. Trump says nothing sexual happened between them.

Cohen told jurors about meetings and conversations with Trump, including one in 2017 in which Cohen says he, Trump and then-Trump Organization finance chief Allen Weisselberg discussed how Cohen would recoup his outlay for the Daniels payment and how the reimbursement would be billed as “legal services.”

Known for his hot temper, Cohen has remained mostly calm on the witness stand despite sometimes heated interrogation by the defense about his own misdeeds and the allegations in the case.

Key Moments in the Trial

A key moment came Thursday, when Blanche accused Cohen of lying about the purpose of a phone call to Trump’s bodyguard days before Cohen wired Daniels’ lawyer $130,000.

Cohen told jurors he talked to Trump on that call about the hush money payment. Blanche confronted Cohen with text messages to argue that Cohen had actually been talking to Trump’s bodyguard about harassing calls from a teenage prankster.

“That was a lie. You did not talk to President Trump on that night … You can admit it?” Blanche asked.

“No, sir, I can’t,” Cohen replied, saying he believed he also spoke to Trump about the Daniels deal.

Trump’s lawyers have said they may call Bradley A. Smith, a Republican law professor who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton to the Federal Election Commission, to refute the prosecution’s contention that the hush money payments amounted to campaign-finance violations.

The judge has limited what Smith can address, however, and the defense could decide not to call him, after all.

There are often guardrails around expert testimony on legal matters, on the basis that it’s up to a judge — not an expert hired by one side or the other — to instruct jurors on applicable laws in a case.

Merchan has ruled that Smith can give general background on the FEC, the laws it enforces and the definitions of such terms as “campaign contribution.” But he can’t interpret how federal campaign finance laws apply to the facts of Trump’s case or opine on whether the former president’s alleged actions violate those laws.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Netanyahu Nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

DON'T MISS

Netanyahu Meets Trump at White House as Israel, Hamas Discuss Ceasefire

DON'T MISS

Trump Executive Order Seeks End to Wind and Solar Energy Subsidies

DON'T MISS

US Threatens California With Legal Action Over Transgender Sports Law

DON'T MISS

US Veterans Affairs Will Cut Nearly 30,000 Jobs, Far Fewer Than Planned

DON'T MISS

Houston Astros Donate $1M to Help Recovery From Texas Floods

DON'T MISS

Tucker Carlson Aired Interview With President of Iran

DON'T MISS

California Fails to Stop 23andMe Founder From Re-Acquiring Company

DON'T MISS

Madera County Multi-Agency Effort Leads to Arrest of Felony Suspect in Atwater

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest DUI Driver During Crackdown on Illegal Street Racing and Sideshows

UP NEXT

Netanyahu Meets Trump at White House as Israel, Hamas Discuss Ceasefire

UP NEXT

Trump Executive Order Seeks End to Wind and Solar Energy Subsidies

UP NEXT

US Threatens California With Legal Action Over Transgender Sports Law

UP NEXT

US Veterans Affairs Will Cut Nearly 30,000 Jobs, Far Fewer Than Planned

UP NEXT

Houston Astros Donate $1M to Help Recovery From Texas Floods

UP NEXT

Tucker Carlson Aired Interview With President of Iran

UP NEXT

California Fails to Stop 23andMe Founder From Re-Acquiring Company

UP NEXT

Madera County Multi-Agency Effort Leads to Arrest of Felony Suspect in Atwater

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Arrest DUI Driver During Crackdown on Illegal Street Racing and Sideshows

UP NEXT

July 4 Weekend Was No Picnic for Fresno-Area Firefighters. How Bad Did It Get?

US Threatens California With Legal Action Over Transgender Sports Law

3 hours ago

US Veterans Affairs Will Cut Nearly 30,000 Jobs, Far Fewer Than Planned

3 hours ago

Houston Astros Donate $1M to Help Recovery From Texas Floods

3 hours ago

Tucker Carlson Aired Interview With President of Iran

3 hours ago

California Fails to Stop 23andMe Founder From Re-Acquiring Company

3 hours ago

Madera County Multi-Agency Effort Leads to Arrest of Felony Suspect in Atwater

3 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest DUI Driver During Crackdown on Illegal Street Racing and Sideshows

3 hours ago

July 4 Weekend Was No Picnic for Fresno-Area Firefighters. How Bad Did It Get?

5 hours ago

Tulare County Seizes 300 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks Over Fourth of July

5 hours ago

US Proposes Rules That Could Boost Oil, Gas Output in US West

5 hours ago

Netanyahu Nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

WASHINGTON – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday told President Donald Trump he had nominated him for the Nobel Peace ...

2 hours ago

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on during a bilateral dinner with U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured), at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 7, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
2 hours ago

Netanyahu Nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 7, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
2 hours ago

Netanyahu Meets Trump at White House as Israel, Hamas Discuss Ceasefire

A wind farm is shown in Movave, California, U.S., November 8, 2019. (Reuter File)
2 hours ago

Trump Executive Order Seeks End to Wind and Solar Energy Subsidies

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon testifies before a Senate Appropriations hearing on U.S. President Donald Trump's budget request for the Department of Education, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 3, 2025. (Reuters File)
3 hours ago

US Threatens California With Legal Action Over Transgender Sports Law

United States Department of Veterans Affairs logo and U.S. flag are seen in this illustration taken April 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
3 hours ago

US Veterans Affairs Will Cut Nearly 30,000 Jobs, Far Fewer Than Planned

A group of search and rescue workers paddle a boat in the Guadalupe River in the aftermath of deadly flooding in Kerr County, Texas, U.S., July 7, 2025. (Reuters/Sergio Flores)
3 hours ago

Houston Astros Donate $1M to Help Recovery From Texas Floods

3 hours ago

Tucker Carlson Aired Interview With President of Iran

Attendees visit the 23andMe booth at the RootsTech annual genealogical event in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., February 28, 2019. (Reuters File)
3 hours ago

California Fails to Stop 23andMe Founder From Re-Acquiring Company

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend